Chapter 33: Otherwise, many people will have to die to resolve the issue.

Charge in!

Luz subconsciously adjusted his tactical helmet, gripped the steering wheel, and pulled up to the main entrance of the hospital.

At the entrance stood an electric retractable gate blocking traffic, alongside a guard shack constructed of cinder blocks. Within Milton’s line of sight, a man with a TEC-9 slung at his waist and covered in Vancamp gang-style tattoos let out a yawn, sauntered out of the shack, and walked over to the Chevrolet Caprice, rapping his knuckles against the window.

"What do you want? Roll the window down!"

The night was dark, and the windows were tinted, making it difficult for anyone outside to see into the vehicle. Hospitals were rarely targets for attack, and the Vancamp thugs hired as security were merely there for show. Having never encountered an assault, their vigilance was incredibly low. Furthermore, the gang had been involved in a fierce shootout with a prosecutor just the previous night; most of them subconsciously felt that threats were unlikely to arise so frequently.

Perfect... take him out before they realize something is wrong!

Milton immediately reached over and rolled the window down a crack, simultaneously raising the muzzle of his Ruger Mark II and pulling the trigger in rapid succession.

*Click! Click! Click!*

The "guard" didn’t even have time for the drowsiness in his eyes to turn into fear before his forehead was pierced, his brain pulverized by the cavitation effect of the bullets.

*Vroom! Boom!*

At the same moment, the V8 engine roared with intense ferocity—the sound of the RPMs hitting their limit! A powerful force pushed Milton back into his seat as the car slammed through the electric gate, charging to the hospital entrance and blocking the way!

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Milton flung the door open, grabbed his heavy FN FAL, and rushed into the hospital with his two teammates. According to the plan, he was responsible for clearing the main corridor, while the other two handled the left and right flanks.

As soon as he entered, Milton saw two thugs with submachine guns at their waists looking toward the entrance in confusion.

*Bang, bang, bang!!!*

Milton did not hesitate to pull the trigger on them!

The full-power rounds instantly shattered the first thug's sternum, erupting in a mist of blood and blowing out a large amount of internal organs and bone fragments from his back. The second thug had half his skull blown away by several rounds, his body slamming heavily onto the nurse's station counter.

The enemies on the flanks were quickly dispatched by his two teammates. The gunfire lasted less than a second. The ambushed guards were wiped out completely; they hadn't even had a chance to react, let alone fight back.

The doctors and nurses on duty were stunned. It wasn't until the shooting stopped and the guards fell that they snapped out of their shock, cowering under their desks in terror.

Milton didn't have time to deal with them. After clearing the threat, he immediately headed toward the stairwell. Passing the elevator, he fired a few shots, shattering the control panel to put the elevator out of commission. This prevented enemies on the upper floors from descending, allowing Brandon, who was guarding the first floor, to cover fewer positions. The telephone on the front desk received the same treatment, smashed into pieces.

*Thank goodness this isn't the United States... otherwise, who knows what kind of strange alarm systems they might have.*

Just then, a nurse whose face was splattered with blood suddenly let out a piercing scream!

"Ah—"

The other doctors and nurses in the hospital, though they didn't scream, were all trembling, their faces deathly pale. Milton stopped in his tracks, scanning the terrified medical staff, especially the nurse who had made the noise.

She collapsed to the ground, staring at Milton in horror, not daring to make another sound. She had seen death before, but she had never seen such a sea of blood and corpses in a person's eyes—he had killed many people, and he wouldn't mind killing a few more.

"Smart people don't risk their lives to defend their boss's interests. Stay where you are and don't move."

After leaving those words, Milton led Luz toward the stairwell. They needed to head down to the morgue in the basement to find anyone who might know something, or perhaps find clues hidden there. The doctors likely didn't have detailed information about the drug bottle replacement points.

Brandon took over the position guarding the stairs and the main entrance. He looked at the doctors and nurses and said viciously, "The boss says if anyone dares to scream or move again, many, many people in this hospital will have to die to appease his rage."

*That's not what I meant, you bastard, stop misinterpreting what I say!*

Milton nearly stumbled, but time was short; he could only curse his subordinate's rumor-mongering internally as he and Luz breached the basement level.

Descending one flight of stairs to the double doors, Milton didn't rush in blindly. Regardless of whether there were enemies inside, he assumed there were. Crouching to the right of the door, he opened his radio and whispered to Luz, "Smash the latch. When we kick the door open, throw a grenade inside."

"Three, two, one."

*Bang-bang! Pop-pop!*

Milton shot the latch and kicked the door wide open, simultaneously tossing an MK3A2 offensive grenade to the left—he saw from the corner of his eye that Luz was doing the same.

A full two seconds after the grenades landed, two sets of hurried footsteps echoed from behind the wall! But it was too late to run!

*Boom! Boom!*

As the two massive explosions ended, Milton cut into the room, firing three-point bursts into the fallen Vancamp thugs.

Luz's voice came over the radio, crackling with static: "Left side clear."

Milton nodded: "Right side clear... This morgue is large; there might be other enemies. Search carefully."

These Vancamp thugs were clearly bottom-feeders, equivalent to monkeys with guns; their combat proficiency wasn't even on the same level as the people who had tried to kill him earlier. Those killers hadn't been professionals either, but they wouldn't have waited two seconds for a grenade to land before running; they would have retreated in an orderly fashion before the grenades even touched the ground.

"Enemy combat effectiveness is low. We can speed up the clearing process."

Luz moved forward cautiously with his rifle raised, frowning as he asked, "Does their hospital need a morgue this big... it's strange."

Milton found it suspicious too, but his HUD showed the nearby cold storage lockers were empty, so he didn't waste energy on it. "In a place this big, it's unlikely only two people are guarding it. Don't save your grenades when checking spots; our time is precious."

"Understood."

Whenever they encountered blind spots or potential firing positions, they immediately tossed flashbangs or grenades, maintaining a rapid pace.

In less than a minute, they had cleared over three-quarters of the morgue, ensuring they wouldn't be flanked when they moved toward the right side, where the clues were supposedly hidden. Yet, they hadn't encountered any other enemies along the way...

Milton checked his watch. "The remaining enemies are likely hiding at the target location. Watch for lines of fire and potential traps. We have three minutes and twenty-six seconds of extraction time remaining."

"Copy!"

The two continued to advance cautiously toward the right. Soon, they saw an unmarked door at the very end.

This must be the pickup point for the illicit drugs the shopkeeper mentioned.

"There are important clues in the room; I cannot throw a grenade," Milton arranged the tactics calmly. "Prepare a flashbang. We’re doing a dynamic entry. If there are enemies inside, try to use non-lethal force while ensuring your own safety."

"I'll take the strong-hand side, you take the weak-hand..."

However, before Milton could finish, several panicked voices erupted from behind the door.

"People outside! Brothers outside! Can you hear us? We’re coming out! We surrender! Hey, man, please stay calm, don't shoot!"

Milton paused. Surrendering already?

Still, not having to fight was for the best. Milton shouted, "Hands behind your heads, turn around, and back out slowly. If you don't comply, there will be no warnings—I will shoot immediately!"

"You have ten seconds. When the countdown ends, I’m storming the room!"

Milton didn't want to be ambushed by enemies faking a surrender. Although he said ten seconds, he would actually only give them seven or eight to prevent them from preparing anything.

A commotion broke out inside the room.

"Hey! Wait..."

"Nine."

"No, wait..."

"Eight."

"Okay! Okay, we're coming out now!"

The people inside dared not challenge Milton's patience any longer. The door was pushed open slowly... although their voices seemed to carry a hint of humiliation?

Then, a naked man covered in Vancamp-style tattoos raised his hands and limped out backward, his body covered in a very suspicious, sticky substance. Following him were a second and a third...

Several men, barely clothed, as if they had just finished doing something illicit.

Milton: "..."

The sight left Milton feeling both disgusted and bewildered—what on earth were these Vancamp guys doing in there?